The Mannequin

by indigenous

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 1254

There are many things that can limit you in this world. For this mannequin the only frontier is himself... and maybe a doorknob.

This is the story of a lonely mannequin that aspires to be something a little more.

Stuck in Rarity's shop, the mannequin can't help but start to feel a little connection between himself and Rarity. But when he's given a chance to escape the shop, his world gets a whole lot bigger.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-04 16:24:55 UTC

Prologue (Original Story)

This is me. I'm a little taller than any other pony, and I'm in here all day, everyday. But I'm not alone. She comes in here all the time. It's almost like this is her world, Rarity's world.

She has these other ponies like her called 'friends', and even this small furry thing she likes to call Opal. There's another small furry thing that runs around here, and Rarity calls her 'Sweetie Belle'. I don't get it. She doesn't ring, and I'm sure if I could taste her she wouldn't be sweet.

Maybe I should think about something else, I don't get opportunities like this often. Usually I can only hold a simple thought, but lately every time I can hold a thought, I can hold it a little bit longer.

Where was I? Oh I remember, Rarity. She's in here all the time. She brings her friends here too, I like to watch them.

A couple months ago I was able to finally look in a fixed position, and I only saw in black and white. But now I can see so many colours. She says there's only six colours but I think she's wrong. There's this odd colour that's very dark and looks like a shadow, and there's another colour that's very bright. They call it black and white. Rarity says the only colours are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

I think she's wrong. I bet if I was able to turn my head around and look out the window, I could see a hundred different colours. But I can't. I can't move at all. I like it when Rarity moves me though.

Sometimes I can see her, and her friends hug and they all have smiles on their faces. Whenever she wraps a scarf around me or puts a hat on me it's like a hug.

Even if I can't feel how soft the scarf is, or how dumb the fabric is, I feel something. I can't describe it with my thoughts, its just there. It kind of reminds me of the colour red, it's just so striking and bright. I like the feeling, I only get it when Rarity is near me or dressing me up, sometimes I get it around Sweetie Belle, or around Rarity's friends.

Speaking of Sweetie Belle, I still don't get it. She's nothing like Rarity, nopony is. I've seen other mannequins and they all look the same, so why don't the ponies? Rainbow Dash is blue, Pinkie is pink, Applejack is orange, Twilight is purple, Spike is purple too, Fluttershy is yellow, and Rarity is white. They all look so different. I want to be different, maybe if I'm different enough I'll become a pony.

Then I could walk around this place and talk. I could respond, and I could feel the warmth. Or cold. I could feel angry and happy and sad. I could cry and smile and all sorts of things. I think ponies cry because they get hurt, I want to feel hurt. I want Rarity.

She's only in here half the day, during the night she goes upstairs to a different world. It's called the bedroom. Her bed is made of the softest fabric, It's probably very dumb as well, so Sweetie Belle won't mess with it.

I wish I was up there with her. I wish she was down here with me. She compliments me all the time and gives me funny names like 'That' and 'This' and 'You'. I wish I could say 'Rarity' back, that's her name and I wish I could say it.

...Something's wrong. I'm still thinking, by now I would've stopped but I'm still awake. I don't know if something is wrong with me, or if this is natural. I wish Rarity was here. I have to wait until it's day for her to come back down.

Only if I could move, and walk up to Rarity and wake her up. Maybe I can move, maybe if I try I can really do it. I can feel something, it's definitely not like the colour red this time. It's something much different.

I did it! I felt it! I can't describe the feeling, it felt more like the colour orange than red. My view of the room changed a little bit. I can see part of the staircase.

Maybe if I do it again I'll get closer to the staircase.

I did it again! I can see more of the stair case, and I can really feel it. I'm moving, at this rate I'll be up in Rarity's room in no time.

...Wait, I think I can hear something. It sounds like Sweetie Belle's friend, Scootaloo. She's telling her to go out the window, and Sweetie Belle keeps saying that she keeps bumping into me. I lost the feeling, there was no feeling. It was just Sweetie Belle.

Oh no, somethings happening. No no no no no I think I'm falling over!

Well now at least I have a good view of the door, and part of the ceiling. Although I heard Sweetie Belle say something like 'Dumb mannequin'.

It wasn't me, It was all Sweetie Belle. I still can't move, I still can't talk, and I thought I felt something different for once. I wish Rarity was here to pick me up, I wish I wasn't a mannequin... I wish- Oh great. The lights turned on now what?

Something's coming, I can hear their hoofsteps on the stairs. That has to be Rarity.

She's here! She came and rescued me from Sweetie Belle and her friends. I think she's trying to pull me up, I can feel her hooves around my neck.

She keeps complaining about how heavy I am. If Sweetie Belle could knock me over then Rarity should have no trouble picking me up. I like it when she complains though. It's funny, I can't laugh but sometimes I think I can feel laughter. It feels like the colour yellow.

I'm back and upright again. I'm lined up with the other mannequins and Rarity keeps fidgeting with me, I think she's trying to put me exactly where I was before.

I think I can feel it again, the colour red. I only feel it when she's here. She reached behind me and closed the window, she says it was the wind that knocked me over. That or it was Opal. Only if I could tell her that it was the other furry little trouble maker.

She's laughing, is she laughing at me or herself? Well, whichever it is I like it. When she's happy, I'm happy.

I don't get why she talks to me, no other ponies talk to me. She said to not fall over while she's asleep. Did she really think I did? Maybe she's just joking. Only if I can find a way to respond, anything would be good. If I could just say something to her, one thing at all it would be... "I love you."

I can see her, she's turning around and looking all over the place. She asked if Sweetie Belle was there, but she wasn't. I think she heard something. I think she heard me.

She blamed it on the wind again, was it really the wind that time? Or was it me? I guess if I keep this up, she'll think I'm some sort of ghost. Maybe I am just a ghost. Or maybe I am something different.